— Kentucky: Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, whose lone term was dogged by a hiring scandal, was handily defeated by Democrat Steve Beshear, a former state attorney general and lieutenant governor who made ethics a key issue in the race.

— Utah: Residents considered a proposal to rescind a new law creating a statewide voucher program that uses taxpayer money to subsidize private school tuition. Utah House minority leader Ralph Becker, the highest-ranking Democrat in that chamber, crushed city councilman Dave Buhler in the Salt Lake City mayoral race.

— New Jersey: Voters rejected a referendum to authorize the state to borrow $450 million over 10 years for stem cell research.

— Ohio: In the nation's lone congressional race, five Republicans and two Democrats in northwest Ohio vied in a primary for the nomination to succeed Rep. Paul Gillmor, who died in September from a fall at his Washington apartment. In Columbus, Mayor Michael Coleman beat his Republican challenger to win a third term. In Canton, William J. Healy II became the first Democrat to win the mayor's office in 16 years, giving the party control of Ohio's eight major cities. In the northeast Ohio city of Streetsboro, where a 19-year-old fell short of reaching a runoff in the mayoral primary last May, voters raised the legal age to run for mayor or council from 18 to 23.

— Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, a 27-year-old elevated to office upon the death of the incumbent, managed a victory despite a series of missteps in his first year on the job. Former city councilman Michael Nutter, a Democrat, easily won the Philadelphia mayoral race on promises to fight gun violence and public corruption. Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta, a Republican who gained national prominence by targeting illegal immigrants, won re-election to a third term with about 90 percent of the vote.

— Maryland: Sheila Dixon became the first black woman elected mayor of Baltimore.

— North Carolina: Republican Pat McCrory cruised to a record seventh term as mayor of Charlotte. In Charleston, S.C., Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. brushed aside three challengers to win a ninth term.

— Oregon: Voters decided against raising the cigarette tax by 84.5 cents a pack — to $2.02 — to fund health insurance for about 100,000 children now lacking coverage.

— Texas: Lance Armstrong led a successful push for up to $3 billion in bonds to create a cancer research institute. Houston Mayor Bill White easily won re-election to his final, two-year term as leader of the nation's fourth-largest city.

— Michigan: Voters in the Detroit suburb of Berkley rejected a proposal to require that a nativity scene stand at city hall for one month around Christmas.

— Maine: State residents narrowly denied the Passamaquoddy Indians permission to operate a racetrack casino with up to 1,500 slot machines.

— Washington: Voters considered a referendum to require that any tax increase by the Legislature win a two-thirds majority.